Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Roshan's Apartment- The Erosion of Time

These days, India is well off. My aunt lives in an apartment that could easily fit right into San Francisco; I'd be happy to live right here.

I've said it before.... Coming back to India after 16 years is like time travel to the future. My memories of my aunt's home are of a completely different, less extravagant apartment, the one she lived in most of her life, in the center of old Pune.

When we were kids, getting water into my grandparent's and aunt's home was an *adventure*. The water would only be on a few hours per day, so they would fill up buckets. No one would dare drink that water without some serious boiling first. Standing showers were out of the question.... Baths involved a small stool and a bucket.

Although her new place is beautiful, the old was her home, and she only finally left it a few years back, when the water situation deteriorated even further (newer apartments have their own water tanks that work pretty well). Her family still owns the old place, though it sits empty, unusable.

I wanted to go back, and my aunt happily gave us a tour.

It was as I remembered it, but empty, and eerily quiet.

The contrast was great, because the last time I was here was for my cousin's wedding, and the whole house vibrated with the excitement of a giant party.... Here are the photos of the same apartment 16 years earlier.